Summer Snow
by Xekon
Summary: Because at heart, Saix still loves the snow.


The man in black trudged across the scalding hot desert. The heat waves were almost palpable around him, yet he kept his hood drawn up tightly around his face. The city of Agrabah was within sight, and he could almost taste the ice cold water that surely awaited him back at the castle. The locals spared him a few curious glances but didn't bother him. It was normal for people like him to show up out of the blue, or in this case, out of the desert.

The man strode down a dark alley. He opened a corridor darker than the shadows on the walls and didn't hesitate to walk through. His body went into immediate shock from the sudden change in temperature from blazing hot to comfortably cool. He sat down on one of the couches in the Grey Area and scribbled down a hasty mission report as the Dusks brought him a glass of clear cool water.

Saix flipped off his hood and moved to his usual spot at the forefront of the room. The earliest team to complete their mission usually arrived exactly seven minutes after he himself did, and he was slightly surprised when ten minutes passed after the usual time and not a single Nobody had appeared. He waited, and waited, and waited some more and still no one appeared. Just as Saix was about to go investigate, Axel came strolling out of a dark corridor.  
>"Hey, Sai!" Saix noted with distaste that Axel was soaking wet.<p>

"Where have you been, Axel?" Axel grinned.

"Nice to see you too. Heh, come see for yourself."

"Axel."

"Have I ever led ya astray old buddy?"

"More times than I can count," Axel pretended to look offended, but he managed to drag Saix through a dark corridor nonetheless. Saix dreaded what would be on the other side with all his non-existent heart. When they stepped into the light, Saix forgot how to do anything but stare. Axel's eyes flared with triumph.

"This is…" Saix trailed off.

"Yep," Axel smacked his friend on the back, "it's like this in all the worlds. It snowed everywhere."

Saix and Axel stood on top of a hill encrusted in white. Soft powder still drifted to the ground in a manner that showed no signs of stopping. A stillness hung in the air that was eerie yet peaceful. The snow threw the light from the setting sun into a golden, shining, sparkling sea of gold. It was the perfect snowfall, still unmarred by footprints. The spell was broken by the soft powder being hurdled at Saix's face. Saix's eyes lit up and he lunged at Axel, who didn't have time to react. Saix smeared Axel's face around in the snow before diving into a snowdrift to hide. Axel unburied his head and spun around.

"Where'd you go, Sai?" He yelled. Saix tunneled through the snow on his belly. Using the sound of his voice, Saix emerged behind Axel and launched a volley of snowballs at his spiky red hair. By the time Axel turned around, Saix was gone again. The game of cat and mouse lasted long past sunset. The moon was full, and the two Nobodies sat laughing at the top of a snowcapped hill, shivering and exhausted.

"Think its…time to head back yet?" Axel panted.

"Yeah," Saix opened a dark corridor directly into the kitchen. The room was packed with every active member of the Organization in various stages of defrosting.

"Hey, Moony!" Xigbar waved mischievously.

"All of you complete your mission reports immediately," Saix snapped.

"Aww, do we have to?" Demyx whined.

"It depends; do I have to refrain from issuing your mission rewards, Number IX?" Saix replied slyly.

"Not fair!" One by one, the Organization, with the exception of Axel and Saix, migrated to the Grey Area. Axel slid a steaming mug of hot chocolate across the counter into Saix's waiting hand. The thick liquid warmed him to the core as it flowed down his throat. Axel held his own mug with one hand and filled out his mission report with the other. The pair sat in a comfortable silence as they sipped their steaming drinks.

"So…" Axel began.

"No, I'm not giving you a mission that would permit you to play in the snow," Saix deadpanned, "But," he thought, "that doesn't mean I won't assign one to myself." After all, with all the work he did in the Organization, it was only fair that he himself should be allowed a vacation.

"So not fair, Sai."

"Non-existence isn't fair."

"Heartless!"

"Axel, we both know all too well how correct your pun was." Axel threw his hands into the air in defeat.

"I give!" Saix smirked and finished his hot chocolate in peace as Axel stormed out of the room like a child throwing a tantrum. Once he collected all of the mission reports, he settled himself in for a good night's sleep. The next morning, Saix ordered the Dusks to wake everyone up early. He ignored their complaints and threats and sent them on their way. Saix opened a corridor to Hollow Bastion.

True to Axel's work, this world too was covered in a sleepy blanket of snow. The decorations that adorned the shop windows told of summer despite the thick frost on the ground. Saix let the still falling snow land and melt in his hair as he trekked along the mountain trail. Strangely, he could find no trace of Heartless anywhere. Upon further investigation in more worlds, he came back with the same result each time. To him, it was as if the worlds were suddenly at peace, at least for the time being. Saix returned to the hillside where he and Axel had shared their first snowball fight since becoming Nobodies.

Saix sat in the snow and stared into the valley below. Cherry Blossom trees were in full bloom, and the snow brushed them in a frosty glaze. He allowed himself the pleasure of enjoying his first summer snow.

A week later the worlds thawed and missions resumed at their usual pace, but Saix often fell asleep with childhood memories floating through his head like flakes of snow.


End file.
